


Needful Things

by mosvalsky



Category: Rick and Morty
Genre: Angst, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Incest, Office Relationship, Rape/Non-con Elements, Soulmate AU, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Underage - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-24
Updated: 2018-03-11
Packaged: 2018-12-19 05:30:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11891028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mosvalsky/pseuds/mosvalsky
Summary: A little crush on her boss has consequences Summer couldn't have imagined.





	1. Chapter 1

It was a late night for Summer and the devil. Summer was working a full shift that day, and spent most of it organizing the merchandise in the back, a task which had clearly never been done before. Mr. Needful, meanwhile, was busy most of the time taking care of cursed customers and trying to get them to learn whatever lesson they seemed to need to learn from their curse. The people today were not the brightest bunch.

Mr. Needful noted to Summer at one point, while the store was slow and he got to ask Summer how the organizing was going, that the heat tended to bring out weirder customers than usual.

"I'm fairly accustomed to the heat, of course," he said, half-looking over summer's progress, "but it seems the people here have never been in over 80 degree weather."

Summer nodded, "I can't stand it. It's uncomfortable and it makes everybody irritable." She moved a trinket to a table and then leaned onto a chest-level stack of boxes, staring into the distance with her hands under her chin. "I wish it would be fall already."

The devil let out a breath laugh and said after a pause, "You do see the irony in that, Summer?"

Summer glared at him.

The front doorbell rang. The devil groaned, shot a wink at summer, and headed back to the front of shop to greet the customer.

Summer got back to her task, which was starting to feel impossible.

The rest of the shift went pretty much the same. There would be a rush and Summer would get second-hand stress from Mr. Needful, and then it would quiet down and he would come check on her. The end of the day came slowly, but surely. When it got to be closing time at 9 o'clock, the two of them let out the greatest sigh of relief. They grinned at each other as the last customer left. "It's over," the devil said with a laugh. Summer snorted.

After closing, there was some paperwork that the devil still had to fill out, which left Summer with about twenty minutes of nothing to do. She spent that time as wisely as she could, checking over all her notifications on her phone. After a couple minutes, she ran out of texts to answer and started wandering around the store, just looking at all the old and mysterious items she usually just preferred not to touch.

"Okay, we're all set!" Said the devil from his office. Summer collected her bag and jacket and headed for the door. The devil got there a minute later and fished out his keys.

"Are you okay walking back home?" He said, looking at summer with concern.

"I'm okay," Summer reassured him for the millionth time, "But..."

"But?" The devil asked immediately, his interest and concern piqued.

"Aren't you gonna kiss me goodbye?" Summer said with a grin.

The devil looked at her, exploring his face and trying to find a hint of her joking. After a very long pause, he said gently, "You aren't kidding, are you?"

Summer said nothing, but continued smiling. A slyness covered her expression, which worked beautifully to veil her extreme trepidation. She didn't want to mess this up. She was nervous and her face was hot and she couldn't tell if it was the heat or the embarrassment or just how attractive Mr. Needful looked as he took in her sight.

The devil gazed and gazed. Finally, finding no hint of a lie on her face, he took her shoulders into his hands and crashed into her. His mouth pried apart her lips and he kissed her with a fervor that could only occur with months of pent up wanting. Summer melted under him. She moved her lips in time with his, devouring his passion.

They drew apart slowly. There was a look of understanding in each other's eyes, that this was real, necessary. They both wanted this so bad.

The devil coughed awkwardly but couldn't control the grin spread across his face, "I'll see you tomorrow?"

Summer smiled warmly, "Yeah. Goodnight, Mr. Needful." She suddenly felt silly calling him that, but she didn't know what else to call him. He had said she could call him "the devil," but that really just didn't roll off the tongue.

"Goodnight Summer," he said wistfully, watching her as she grinned and turned her back to him to walk home. He stood there a while, watching her walk into the distance. He didn't know what else to do. His brain wasn't working, and his motor skills certainly weren't about to be properly functional.

"Summer," he said quietly to himself, enjoying the sound and feel of her name on his tongue.

Summer cursed as she walked through the dark streets. Her head was spinning with thoughts. She was completely oblivious to the concrete buildings and the streetlights that left a dewy kind of light to show her the way home. She had been thinking about this for weeks. She had just been thinking about him for so, so long. She couldn't believe he kissed her. Couldn't believe she even managed to say what she said. She briefly wished she had said it more suavely, more sexily. But she pushed that thought aside and thought about his lips moving on hers. The taste and the feel and the warmth.  
  
Then she remembered she had work tomorrow. She cursed again. As much as she definitely wanted this, she wasn't prepared to face him at work after kissing him. She had no idea what she was supposed to do. Should she pretend that nothing happened during work hours, and then let whatever happens after work happen? Would acting cute and flirty at work be inappropriate? She groaned into the empty street.

She suddenly wished she were home already so she didn't have to be so alone with her thoughts. If Rick hadn't gotten so upset at her insistence at keeping her job after he decided on his own that the devil was too much of a tool for Summer to work for, she would still have a ride. But no, Rick was petty and refused to drive her to work now.

She wondered what Rick would say if he found out that she had kissed Mr. Needful.

"Lucius?" she thought aloud, playing with the thought of what to call him.

Summer played the kiss again in her head, imagining it through Rick's eyes. Considering that Lucius was so much older than her, along with everything else, she figured Rick would probably disown her and kill him. She decided to keep it secret from him for now.

~

Summer was dreading going to work. She liked Mr. Needful of course, and she wanted to see him, but she was so nervous about how things would go at work that a pit of anxiety grew in her just thinking about it. She took a deep breath and tried to think of something else.

Summer got her stuff together, announced she was leaving for work, and was out the door. The walk to work was a lot more painful than usual. She wasn't this accustomed to suppressing thoughts, so she was a little on edge. A guy on a bike rode past, nearly hitting her because Summer didn't see him and didn't move out of his way. She cursed and added the bike to another thing she didn't want to think about.

It took all her strength to open the door to Needful Things and step inside, but she did it. She looked around until she saw Mr. Needful organizing some things in the corner. "Hi Mr. Needful!" Summer said as brightly as she could manage.

"Oh, hello Summer," Mr. Needful replied, smiling warmly. After summer put her belongings in the break room, Mr. Needful went over to her and went immediately into business, explaining what was going on today and what she needed to focus on.

Relief hit her like a pillow full of sunshine. As long as she was on shift, she didn't have to worry about what would or wouldn't happen with her and her boss. It was just business, and that was great.  
Summer reflected briefly while straightening the merchandise that she should probably be excited that Lucius had returned her affection instead of being nervous. But the thought lingered that maybe she had made a huge mistake. She thought of what Rick would say. She imagined his stutters and sneers and had a whole argument with him in her head that nearly brought her to tears.

"What did you expect S-Summer?" Rick spat, the smell of alcohol heavy on his breath, "That's what you always do."

"I d-" Summer was cut off before she started.

"You're weak, Summer. And pathetic. You would lead on an old man because you don't know what you're doing. You always want everyone else to figure out your life for you. And you probably only like him a-eaurgh-anyway because you have self-e-esteem issues that make you cling to anyone who gives you a little bit of a-eugh-ttention."

Summer frowned at her imagining of Rick's words. He had said something similar to her before, but she also was smart enough to know that she was just using his image to deal with her own issues.  
She bit her lip. She was gonna fuck this thing with Lucius up and she knew it.

She looked over at him, hunched over his work. He was writing something, she didn't know what. She always enjoyed looking at him and listening to him. There was something incredibly sensual about everything that he did. The way he leaned into his work, the subtle smile he would occasionally give, the little hand gestures he made, the cool timbre of his voice. She found him very attractive, that much was true.

But she knew that in reality, she didn't know him very well. A work setting isn't a place where people really reveal themselves to eachother, and Summer and Lucius were no exception. She thought about herself, how she never really talked about her life, and that Lucius really didn't know who she was. In reality, she didn't really know who she was either, but it just seemed weird. She knew who Lucius was at work. He was sweet and passionate and caring, but that is one of the requirements of retail. Summer was also sweet and passionate and caring to customers at work, even though she knew she could be an awful bitch sometimes in real life. What if Lucius was a total asshole outside of work? Really, if he was okay with being in a relationship with someone so much younger than him, he had to have a load of issues. Also, there was the fact that he's literally the devil, which would probably complicate things.

"Summer," a gentle voice said behind her. She jumped, startled out of her thoughts. "Oh, sorry," Lucius said with an empathetic smile, "Didn't mean to scare you. I was gonna ask if you could watch the front? I'm gonna go do the paperwork."

"Oh, yeah" Summer said clumsily, "that's fine." After a moment of thought, she added, "Wait, is it that late already?"

"Eight twenty-seven, yes," Lucius replied, looking at his wristwatch.

~

The rest of the shift went by slowly. Summer watched the front and helped the one customer who came in, and then was alone with her thoughts again. Every second nearing closing made her more nervous. What would Lucius say? What would she say? Her thoughts swam until the office door opened and a grinning Mr. Needful came out.

"Alright, that's done. How about we head out?"

"Sounds good," Summer said nervously. Lucius got the lights, held open the front door for Summer, and then locked it behind her.

"I hope this isn't uncomfortable for you, by the way, but I would prefer to separate work and personal life. Otherwise, it tends to get a bit...complicated," Lucius said, rubbing his neck awkwardly.

"No, no," Summer said quickly, "It's good. I was worried, actually..." she admitted, lowering her voice. "I didn't know what to say or do or anything."

"Summer," Lucius chided, "you do whatever you want. It'll be okay."

"Thank you Lucius." She leaned up on tip-toes and kissed him on the cheek. Lucius responded by sliding his hands onto her waist and pulling her in for a hug. He leaned his head on her shoulder and she did the same.

"Good night, Summer"

"Good night, Lucius."


	2. Chapter 2

When Summer got home, she was suprised to find herself smiling. She had been worrying all day but when Lucius finally got to talk to her, she felt her caution about him melt away. He really was a wonderful man. He was kind and sweet, and maybe it could work out.

The house was dark when she came home except for the artificial light from the television that seeped through the doorway into the other rooms. Rick was still up. She caught a glance of him before going into the living room. He was taking heavy rips from a bottle of vodka with an annoyed expression on his face, the usual. He was splayed out on the couch, one foot on the coffee table and the other tucked under him.

"Hey grandpa," Summer mumbled as she crossed the room to get to hers.

"Hey Su-eeurgh-ummer," he grunted in response. He looked at the bottle and otherwise ignored his granddaughter.

Summer was relieved to not go through any questioning by him, but some part of her brain tugged at her.

"Hey, uh...grandpa Rick?"

"eh?" Rick turned, the alcohol spilling a little into his lap with the sloppy movement.

With a grimace, Summer turned back. "Nevermind. Goodnight grandpa Rick."

"Meh," Rick replied, turning his attention back to the pulsating television screen.

Summer went to her room and tried not to think about her grandpa's attitude towards her as she changed into her pajamas. She slid her jeans down off her hips and let them fall onto the floor. She stepped out of them and threw them into her laundry basket. "Stupid Rick," she muttered as she pulled her shirt up and off, arching her body into the semi-darkness. She continued grumbling as she put on her pajama pants and a tank top. She didn't even know why she was upset about it. Rick was always like this.

She thought about for a minute. She thought she would like to be able to tell Rick about Lucius. She wanted him to be happy for her. Why could he never just be happy for her?

~

Summer woke up in pain. There was a sharp stab in her shoulder. Through a groggy mental state, she grabbed at it with one arm and fumbled around for the light with the other. She glanced at her alarm clock. 3:24 AM. Great. She finally got the light on and looked at her shoulder. It was red and had dark splotches all over it. It hurt like hell.

"What the fuck," She hissed, poking at it. Her eyes were clouded with sleep and she couldn't make out what it was on her arm, but it was starting take some sort of shape.

  
Her thoughts went between gangreen, some weird sort of arm-contracted STD, a weird super-flu virus, and anything else that sounded terrible that she might have gotten before she remembered what her parents had told her.

This must be her soulmate mark. The way they described it to her, she didn't think it would hurt this much. At least it was slowly abating but it still stung.

It took her a minute to realize the implications, but when she did, she grinned and let out a giddy "oh!" She certainly liked Lucius, but she never imagined he would be her soulmate!

Imagine, having your soulmate be the actual devil! She secretly reveled in it.

She watched as the mark took its shape. It seemed to be a pattern of interlocking chains that was wrapping around her shoulder. She frowned. She was hoping it would be flowers or something. Chains aren't cute.

She narrowed her eyes at it. Chains.

~

Summer woke up feeling groggy. There was still some dull pain throbbing in her arm. It was warm the touch. She moaned and rolled out of bed. She headed to the bathroom to look at it in better light.  
  
It hadn't changed from last night. It was chains, interlocking in intricate patterns all over her arm. She began to feel slightly self-conscious and embaressed. All of her friends that have gotten their soulmate marks had cute ones like hearts or pretty floral patterns. But hers was so...unromantic. She sighed. Whatever. It still meant she had a soulmate after all, which was good.

She debated hiding it from her family. They would find out eventually, she supposed. But then again, she didn't want Rick to know that she was dating Lucius, she she decided to put on a sweater before heading into the rest of the house.

Breakfast was awkwardly quiet, like usual. And she didn't have anything she wanted to share with her family just yet.  
But then her mom spoke, "By the way Summer, you've been getting home so late lately..."

Summer nearly choked on her cereal.

"I hope your boss at that shop isn't working you too hard. And you better be getting overtime."

"Oh," Summer faked a laugh, "Yeah. Yeah, it's all good. He's just been having me stay longer to train me on how to the paperwork."

Rick eyed her suspiciously. Summer pretended not to notice.

"Alright, well, I gotta go to work," She said nervously, pushing her chair out and rushing out.

"Have a good day, Sweetie!" her mom called after her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summer has a date and Beth has suspicions :o

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the delay! writing is hard for me, and I'm really slow at it.   
> Also thank you guys so much! I didn't expect to get all this positive feedback on this fic, and I'm thrilled you guys like it!! :D

Despite what she told her mom, the truth was that summer didn't even have work that day. It was the day she was both incredibly nervous and excited about. It was her first real date with Lucius! He had closed the store for the day and made plans for the two of them to dine in the fanciest restaurant in town. 

She was reeling as she left the front door. She had packed fancier clothes in the bag she usually took to work and she was planning on stopping in at McDonalds or something to use the bathroom to change. She felt awkward as she did it. It reminded her of how much younger she was than Lucius- that she was still living at home, that she had to hide that she had a date, and that she didn't have a better place to change into fancy clothes than a public bathroom. When she looked at herself in the mirror, though, she felt that feeling fade a little. She was wearing a form-fitting black dress that hugged her hips seductively, and she had on strappy heels that made her feel much, much too tall. She admired herself briefly, turning around to see if it fit right everywhere. Satisfied, she shoved her regular clothes into her purse- she brought her larger one for this. 

The two of them decided to meet at the antique store before heading to the restaurant. Summer had requested this, while trying to hide the fact that she hadn't told her family anything about her and Lucius, and desperately didn't want them to know. Lucius agreed, as it seemed simple enough. Summer walked cautiously the several blocks from McDonalds to her work, trying not to catch her heels on something and trip. When she saw Lucius there, she lost her breath. He was leaning against a black Lexus, holding a bouquet of red roses. He was dressed smartly, with a blazer and black trousers. Summer didn't seem to be able to think as she looked at him. 

"Summer!" He called when he saw her. She was about 10 feet away and rushed towards him. She gave him a big hug and he stroked her hair, letting his hand afterwards fall and linger on the nape of her neck. Stepping back a little, but still very close, he handed her the flowers. Summer was so taken aback she was barely able to hold them. She touched a petal with her free hand and looked up at the older man.

"Lucius....wow," was all she could say.

He laughed and put an arm around her waist, leading her to his car. "You look gorgeous by the way, Summer."

"Thank you," Summer blushed, not quite sure how to reply. He opened the passenger door for her and ushered her in. Summer looked around the car in awe. It had an all-leather interior and smelled like new car. It was a dream. She could hardly believe this was happening. How did she get so lucky? Not only was this man the perfect gentleman, he was actually her soulmate, and she had the marks to prove it. 

When the reached the restaurant, Summer noted that is was just as nice as she imagined. The outside was very classy, with ornate brickwork and climbing greenery. There was a black awning that led to a set of glass doors, revealing a dimly lit, sultry interior. There was a quiet hum of conversation that rose just a little above the calm jazz played by a gorgeous blonde woman on a rosewood baby-grand piano. It was so nice it actually set her a little on edge. 

She laughed uncomfortably, "Isn't this place, like, a little too fancy to bring me to?" she asked quietly.

Lucius gave her a soft, knowing expression. "I think it's just the right level of fancy for you," he murmured into her ear. "You deserve the best, Summer."

Summer blushed again and watched silently as Lucius talked to the host, who led and seated them in a comfortable spot by a window with a nice view of the street. 

~

Rick Sanchez watched as Beth's anxiety grew. He could always tell when something was wrong with her, mostly because she was painfully obvious about it. She would sit on the couch, cross her legs, uncross her legs, realize she was sitting down to watch TV, turn the TV on, flip channels, get bored, get up, sit back down, and repeat the process. On the fifth time, Rick decided to do something. 

"Beth, for god's sake, sit down. You're-you're driving me crazy."

Beth looked at him shocked. "What-what are you talking about?" she said, nonchalantly, knowing exactly what he was talking about. 

"Listen Sweetie, I'm not gonna- I won't bullshit you on this. You're clearly upset about something, and you've been pacing around the house non-stop for an hour now. It's- I can't think." 

Beth glared at him. 

"Now, I know, I'm your father, and I should care about your feelings. So how about you tell your dad what's wrong, so that I can stop being distracted by this and-and get back to my w-eurgh-ork?"

Beth stared for another few seconds, trying to gauge whether Rick actually wanted to hear about her problems. Clearly he was just trying to satisfy his own needs, but at least, she supposed, she would be able to have someone sort of listen to her problems. God knows Jerry wouldn't. 

She let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. "Listen, do you feel like there's something weird going on with Summer's work?"

Rick was caught off guard. He honestly figured it was just about Jerry or something. "Well, yeah, I mean she-she works for the Devil. I'm assuming that counts as 'something weird going on.'"

"No," Beth said, frustration clear on her face, "well yeah, I mean there's that. But I still feel like there's something else. Like why does she keep having to stay late?" 

"Maybe they're just fucking," Rick said nonchalantly, bringing his flask up to his lips.

"Ew dad, gross," Beth said immediately before thinking about it. "I mean, she's her own person and it's her body and she has the right to her own decisions, but"

"Beth, she's SEVENTEEN," Rick interrupted, rolling his eyes. "I mean, she still uses "like" every other word, I would hardly trust her to be okay fucking someone that much older than her."

"How old is her boss?" Beth asked after thinking for a second.

"Holy fucking christ Beth." He sighed. "He's the devil. He's older than time itself."

"Okay yeaah," Beth said, "but like, as a human form, how old would you gauge him?"

"56 at least."

"Oh god."

"Listen Sweetie, I didn't- I was just say-saying that. I don't know if they're actually having sex, and if I did, I probably wouldn't have told you. What's this all about?"

"Well," Beth said, looking away from her dad, "I was actually worried about just that. About ahh...them having sex."

Rick sighed again and took another drink.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, big warning for dub-con/non-con this chapter.

The date was going well enough. Summer wasn't completely at ease, but she was comfortable enough. She had hinted to Lucius to get him to order her a glass of wine, and he did. The look in Summer's eyes told him he couldn't tell her no, so he ordered her the most expensive bottle on the menu. He poured summer and himself a glass and then laid a slightly tentative hand on the young woman's. Summer trembled under the touch, but she leaned into it, enjoying the warmth. 

With her free hand, she brought the glass to her lips and took a sip. She did her best to pretend that she enjoyed it. "Mmm," She faked, smiling. 

Lucius just stared at her, unable to tear his gaze away from her, from her flushed cheeks and her full lips. 

Summer felt his gaze like a flame too close to her face. She blushed and squirmed under it. She enjoyed his attention, but he was looking at her like he wanted her to eat her. For the first time since she first met him, she started to feel uncomfortable around him. She tried to shake it off as being a dumb teenager. 

She scathingly mentally chastised herself, telling herself to relax, that he was just doing what adults do. This is how adults are. It's normal for adults to have sex, so if you want to be an adult, you need to relax and just go with it. 

They got into some long discussions of things that Summer had little interest in, but she still enjoyed the conversation. Lucius was open to different opinions, and she appreciated that. And Lucius seemed okay with her limited worldview and dearth of experience, which caused her to have some trouble relating to some of the things he talked about. He seemed to understand, and not to care. He treated her like an adult, and she was grateful for that.

~

Dinner was delicious, and Summer felt herself fairly buzzed after the two glasses of wine she had. A tension settled between her and Lucius as they walked out of the restaurant and towards Lucius's Lexus.

They slowed to a stop in front of the car and faced each other. Summer blushed furiously, suddenly incredibly nervous. Lucius was looking down at her with lidded, lust-filled eyes. She closed her eyes and waited for him to go in for the kiss. He took her hand and squeezed it, then placed his other hand on her waist and brought his lips to hers. The kiss was hard and possessive. She kissed back weakly, trying her best to keep up, but she didn't seem to have his enthusiasm, and she was too out of it to think properly enough to either pull back or return more affections. She couldn't decide which one she wanted to do either.

He continued on, pushing his tongue into her mouth and moving his hand up her shirt. At the same time, he let go of summer's hand and moved it onto her waist, squeezing slightly. 

Summer began to feel slightly sick to her stomach, but she continued kissing back as weakly as she could. She placed her hands on his sides and gently rubbed along his waist. It wasn't as if she could say no at this point, anyway. 

Lucius pulled away and grinned wickedly, glancing at his car and back at her. He let go of her body and reached out for her hand. With Summer's lack of response as permission, he opened the door to the back-seat and motioned her in. 

Summer couldn't help herself and she snorted, "isn't car sex for like, teenagers?" She laughed at the image of this well-dressed, high-society older man fucking in the back seat of a car.

Lucius smirked, "You're a teenager, so why not?" He didn't give her a chance to answer because he was already grabbing at her. He kissed the nape of her neck, and she let out a little squeak from the unexpected pleasure. He nipped at her a little and started moving his hands up her shirt. He groped her breasts aggressively through her bra. After a few seconds, he got frustrated by the barrier and pushed the bra up over her breasts so he could fondle the little nub. He started working his tongue and sucking on her neck. He was definitely going to leave a mark.

Summer tried to react and to return some of his affections, but she was having a hard time because she wasn't really enjoying it. He was clumsy and sloppy, and she was just feeling bored with it. It took until he nearly had her shirt off for her to realize that she would literally rather be anywhere else, and she put her hands in front of her to push him off. 

He looked at her confused. "What's wrong?" He asked 

Summer cringed as she answered, "I don't think this is what I want," 

Lucius started to move closer to her again. He got into her face and next to her ear and whispered, "Then what do you want?" He put his hands on her thighs and started massaging, "I can do anything for you,"

Summer moaned at the feeling, but tried to protest, "No, n-" She moaned as he went further in, brushing against the inside of her thighs. "No, I-" He kept moving on her and he was stroking her all over and it felt good, but she realized she didn't want to be there, but the wine had clouded her consciousness, and she didn't have the wherewithal to protest anymore. Then he had a hand pulling aside her dress and her panties, and he was stroking her, and it felt amazing.

And then she lost consciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know all you guys probably know this but I just wanna say that for the record, there is no "point of no return." you don't have to do anything you don't want to do!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is not a happy chapter :(
> 
> Strong warning for references to rape.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is progressively getting darker, sorry :(

Summer woke with a thickness in her head. Everything was hazy and half-there and every little sound was painful. She wasn't sure where she was or what happened. Through her daze, she could see...green? That was all. She squinted, as if that would help her see. Just green. Suddenly exhausted from just sitting up, she clenched her eyes shut and moaned. She fell back onto the pillow, her head hitting it with a loudish whop. 

"At least I'm in a bed," she thought, "and not passed out in the street or something."

It occurred to her next that while she was in a bed, it wasn't hers. She tried opening her eyes again. They hurt. Everything hurt. It wasn't her bedroom, that was for sure. A sense of worry started to nag at her, but it was suppressed under her achiness and exhaustion. She closed her eyes again and drifted back into fitful sleep.

Waking up the second time was a little more pleasant. She felt less tired, but still irritable and hungover. She blinked. She sat up a little, resting her weight on her arms. Her surroundings were slowly coming better into view. Grey walls. Papers littered everywhere. Boxes full of junk. Technical drawings pinned onto the walls. "Rick?" Summer called, out, realizing where she was. There was no response. She tried to sit up more, but got lightheaded and fell back onto her pillow. Well, Rick's pillow. She swore, irritated that she was in this weak state and frustrated that she didn't know how she got here. "Rick!" She called again, trying once more to get up. She managed to pull her legs to the edge of the bed and finally place her feet on the floor. She crouched over, her elbows jammed into her thighs and her head on her hands. 

She felt dizzy and still fairly disoriented. All she could do for several minutes was stare at the heart-patterned fabric covering her legs, until it struck her that she didn't remember changing into pajamas. She didn't know why she was in Rick's bed with no memory of the night, and she needed to know. Every second of guessing what had happened was unnecessary pain, and she cursed at the situation. "Rick!!" She shouted again, getting to her feet. She steadied herself against the wall. Hearing no response, she continued to the door. She figured he would be in his garage as usual, so she started by looking there. The trudge down the hall was painful and irritating. She had never been in such a state before without it being for the explicit purpose of having fun. This was just unfair.

Rick was, unsurprisingly, in his garage. Tinkering with some gadget that she neither understood, nor cared to understand. For a while, she just watched him. She was unsure what to say, or if she would even be able to vocalize words, considering the state she was in. Rick seemed unaware of her presence, his focus not faltering for a second. He was actually sort of amazing to watch. This bizarre, harsh, and often unstable man was so at ease and so calm when he was working. It was as if everything else in the word had dissolved for him. There was just him and the limits of technology that only he could define. 

It was only when Rick turned around to look for a tool on one of the shelves behind him that he noticed Summer's presence. He looked at her with a telling expression. "Grandpa Rick?" Summer said gently, putting all of her frustration and fear into a small, quiet utterance. 

Summer watched the pang of hurt wash over Rick's face.

"Fuck," He said quietly, closing his eyes and leaning onto his workbench, his tools still in hand. He looked at summer, taking in her confused expression. "Summer, this..." He swore again. "Look, just...." he paused again, wracking his brain for any possible words. "Just come with me okay? Put on some shoes and come on."

Summer was barely sure of what was happening, but she nodded and felt her way along the walls to her room, trying not to trip over herself in the process. She stepped into a pair of flats that were lying on her floor and headed back to the garage. Rick was waiting for her with his portal gun in hand. "Ready?" He said. She nodded, and he pulled her through the green misty portal. 

What they stepped through to was bizarre for Rick's standards. It looked to be just a cabin in a forest. Snow covered everything. The trees were heaving under it and it partially buried any possible walkway. Rick offered Summer a hand, knowing she would need help to navigate the snow in her state. She gratefully accepted his help and placed her hand in his. It was blindingly warm compared to the cold wind that was striking the rest of both of their bodies. Summer followed a step behind him, carefully stepping in the tracks he left. It was surprisingly difficult, and Rick had to steady her multiple times. Eventually, they got the cabin door. Rick heaved the old door open and they were both greeted by a warm and comfortable interior.

A fireplace crackled in the center of the room, and the smell of lavender lingered in the air. Someone had to have been here earlier setting the place up. 

"Why here?" Summer asked as she took a few uneasy steps around the room. Her eyebrows raised as she looked around. It seemed like an odd choice for Rick.

Rick glanced at her. "It's quiet, I figured it would -eeurgh- make this-this whole thing easier."

Summer narrowed her eyes, "this what whole thing?"

Rick didn't answer. Instead he focused on pulling off his lab coat and placing it around the back of a chair. Without hesitation, he then pulled out his flask. He looked at summer with a pained expression and took a pull. "God, that helps," he said quietly. Summer frowned. Ignoring her confusion, he placed a steadying hand on Summer's shoulder and led her to the chair he had put his coat on. He eased her into the chair and then took his own seat across from the table. 

"Okay," Rick started, "I'm- I'm not really sure what to uh-what to say. But something's gotta- gotta- we gotta talk about this."

Summer's lip began to quiver. She had never seen Rick so serious about something. Clearly something was deeply wrong. 

"What do you remember from last night?"

Summer dug into her memory. She remembered waking up and stumbling around the room. She had to fight to remember anything before that. She remembered the restaurant. Lucius had taken her out to a fancy dinner. She remembered lush decoration and Lucius's elegant suit. She remembered the clean leather interior of his car. She remembered lying to her mother about where she was going. 

"Um..." Summer said, cringing as she realized that whatever Rick was getting at, she would probably have to admit to her lie. 

"I went out to dinner with uh...with my boss." She lowered her eyes from Rick's, sure that he would have censuring words for her.

Summer glanced up nervously to see if Rick was looking at her disapprovingly. His expression was unchanged, just that of deep concern. 

"What else?" He asked hesitantly.

Summer searched her memory again. She remembered being kissed by Lucius, having his hands on her. She remembered feeling a little dizzy. And then nothing. 

Summer was silent for a while. "Summer?" Rick asked softly. 

"Oh, God," was all Summer said. She furrowed her brows and covered her face, burying her head in her lap. 

"Summer," Rick said again, his voice breaking slightly with emotion. He got to his feet and stepped slowly over to her. He reached for her hands and pulled her up, hugging her tightly. She buried her face in his shoulder and sobbed. He felt a wet spot on his collarbone where her tears began to soak through his shirt. He brought a hand up and petted her hair soothingly. "I'm so sorry, Summer," he whispered, his voice muffled by her hair, "I'm so sorry."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all your comments and kudos! And thank you especially for your patience! It takes me a while to write, so I appreciate you sticking with me! <3


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